Liquid-fuel heater.



H. N. WHITTELSEY.

Lloum 'FUEL HEATER. APPLICATION FILED S`EPT. 14. 1914.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 5K6" di@ D H."N. WHITTELSEY.

LIQUID FUEL HEATER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14. 19.14.

1,219,515. Patented Mar. 2o, 1917.

- 2 sains-SHEET 2.` .8 2.10

WITNESSES: l

.pheric temperature,

-fuel in 'carbureting apparatus,

UMTED s'rA'rEis PATENT carica.n

HENRY NEWTON WHITTELSEY, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WHIT- '.LELSEY` COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LIQUID-FUEL HEATER.

To all whom z't may concern:

' Be it known that I, HENRY NEWTON WHITTELSEY. a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Greenwich, county of Fairfield, State off lConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid-Fuel Heaters, of which the following is a specification, accompanied `by drawings.

Thisinvention relates to a device for preheating the liquid fuel supplied to the carbureting or vaporizing apparatus' or cylinand the device is particularly applicable for heating liquid fuels not readily vaporized atatmospheric temperatures or having amaterial portion of constituents not so vaporized, examples of such fuels being heavy gasolenes, kerosene, fucl oil, alcohol, etc., although the invention may have a general use in heating other liquids.

The primary object of the present invention is to enable the temperature of lthe liquid fuel to be raised above the atmosthus producing the beneficial result of'increased vaporlzation -when the fuel isreleased or discharged in the carbureter, vae porizer or engine cylinder space.

By so supplyin heat to the liquid fuel, the temperature o the gaseous charge is not raised, 'thus avoiding rarefyingthe charge to the cylinders withy consequent reduction of the power of the engine. Frequently the necessary heat is not fully applied to the small fraction `of time for applying such heat, so that liquid globules often enter the engine cylinder.`

Although heat to effect .vaporiza'tion may have heretofore been added to the liquid fuel before its release or discharge in the carbureter, vaporiaervor engine cylinders'direct, full practical advantage has never been taken of this very advantageous method, owing to lack of proper apparatus, and probably owingto a lack of appreciation among those otherwise skilled in theart, of the material advantagesobtainable from increase of thevapor pressures for effecting vaporization. Furthermore, the general assumption' seems tohave-rbeen. that the temperature of such complex hydrocarbon fuels as gasolene, kerothereby materially in' creasing'the v'apor pressure of the fuel, and

due to the Oury,

n Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led September 14, 1914.. Serial No. 861,554.

sene andthe like, which contain many constituents having different boiling points,

v,may not be raised above the boiling points' of the lightest constituents, and with such a limit placed 0n the heating of the fuel, the full vaporization effect possible cannot be obtained.

I have subjected a gasolene of y Baum gage, now commonly sold on the market,

to a temperature of 200 F. in a copper pipe, without generating a disadvantageous amount of gas from the lightest constituents, although one of those constituents may boil as low as 60 F. NMoreover, inl actual running conditions on the road with a gasolene motor vehicle, I lhave successfully heated the fuel to about such a temperature and ob tained satisfactory operation. It is not necessary, however, to heat to the top limits,

in order to materially increase' the vapor pressures, and effect material vaporization.

I have found that 125 F. to 150 F. for a 60 Baume gage gasolene gives very good results, and for a 44 Ihaum gage kerosene a temperature of 300o 1s satisfactory.

-The advantageous use' of sov preheating a fest as the atmospheric temperature falls below 60 F. By .investigation of the vapor pressures of such afuel, it can be taken that at 32 F. the vapor pressure is equivalent to pressure of 50 m. m. of mercury and at 140 F. equivalent to 500 m. m. Since the -readiness of the vaporization substantially ferent gasolenes, stillf-they truly indicate thegeneral advantage of heating the fuel. The vapor' pressure of 44 BaumeJ kerosene at 60 F. may be 4taken at 22 m. m. of merliandle this'fuel, and shows the advantage to be gained by preheating. From my experience in Ypreheating such fuels, a further material advantage seems to be evident, in that the fuel when discharged from a spray gasolene of 60 Baume gage is most maniwhich very plainly indicates the great idiiculty" encountered in all attempts to nozzlegfappears 'to be more finely divided,

,lfprefer to employ the heat of the exhaust gases instead of the circula-ting water heat as lthe preheating medium for the fuel, for

manyreasons. The heat to assist the vapo-` rization of the fuel is most necessary, when J'an internal combustionengine and itspcarbureter or vaporizerare cold 'or not up to good operating tem erature. As the first exhausts contain su cient heat for the pur- `pose, and as an engine may often be run forhalf an hour before the circulating water gets above 150 F.',it is plain that the exhaust heat isthe most eiicient source of supply, since it immediately raises the temperature ofthe fuel. v l

, An important object of my invention is to afford means' for automatically controlling the exhaust heat supplied to thefheating device, and the advantage of this feature of automatic control resides primarily in the fact that the temperature of the heat chamber is maintained substantially constant and within narrow limits with reference to the variation of temperature of the exhaust gases. Therefore the predetermined temperature` of the heat jacket is controlled under varying running conditions andv further, on first starting up the engine, and also when the engine is slowed down or idled, a

relatively large amount of exhaust gases is tures would not have suiicient'heat supp automatically utilized. In a fuel preheater without such automatic control, only such supply of exhaust gas could be permitted to pass through the heating chamber of the device as would be safe at full po'wenof the engine, with the attendant high pressure vand temperature i of such exhaust gases.

Consequently such a heating device at starting and low exhaust pressures and tempera- 1y and would therefore fail to perform itsl ull function, and would fail when most needed. To manually control such a heat supply would require constant and unremittmg care on the part of the-operator, and on motor vehicles would be most diiicult. On the other hand,,a sensitive automatic control of the heating medium continually adjusts the quantity of exhaust gas admitted to the heating chamber, without any attention utility, especially in motor vehicle and marine installations. The automatic v control'- ling mechanism is ofv such simplicit as to require practically no attention andy to retain indefinitely temperature control setting without material change. The device is so constructed that it may be readily installed in locations difficult of easy access, and it also has the advantage that itmay be installed at any angle, or upside down if nec-- essary, without appreciably affecting the automatic control or the temperature setting v-of the device.

I have illustrated different examples of the invention in the accompanying drawings, in which i Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of one form of the device;

Fig. 2 ais a similar view with some of the parts'ifa different position;

Flg.' 3 1s a transverse sectional elevation on the line AfA of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 4 is a detail broken view, in longitudinal section, of one of the thermostatic members;

Fig. 5 is a detail broken view, partly in vertical section, of one position ofthe ther. mostatic members;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on a ysmaller scale, taken on the line B--B of i Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are similar views of further modifications.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 16 inclusive, one suitable form of the device is illustrated, in whichl D is a suitable casing containing a heating chamber F, preferably having the removable cover 1, adapted to be secured to the casing, as by means of the screws'2 taking into the bosses 3 in thebase ofthe casing.

As shown in'this instance, the cover 1 is provided with the inlet .port E having an internally screw threadedneck 14 adapted fortaking an exhaust Igas conduit connectionl fromthe exhaust manifold or line of an internal combustion engine, sincev as hereinbefore stated, I prefer to utilize the exhaust gases as the heating medium. The

casing D is also provided with an outlet port K, having the internally screw threaded neck 5, which may take a discharge conduit, so that when thedevice is properlylconnected the exhaust'gases .How through the heatling chamber when both ports are open. i

The casingD is preferably made as small yand as light as convenientlypossible and the screw threaded ends 7, for attachmentfor instance, in the Ifuel supply line adjacent the carbureter or vaporizer, so that the liquidfuel flowing through the fuel chamber 6 .is subjected to the heat of the exhaust gases in the heat chamber F. The conduit 6 is held 'firmly in the casing by thejam nuts 8.

In order to automatically control the flow of exhaust gases through the casing, I have shown suitable` devices, preferably in the form of sensitive thermostatic members subject to ythe influence of the heat of the exhaust gases in the heat chamber F and adapted to expand and contract with variationsrof temperature in said heating chamber. In constructing the thermostatic'members, I take advantage of the property of difference in expansion of twometals or alloys, or a metal and an alloy under the influence of applied heat. By constructing such thermostatic members in the form of strips, each composed of metals or alloys having different coeiiicients of expansion, the tendency of the greater expanding metal or alloy to expand in a straight line, is opposed by the less expanding metal or alloy, thus causing the formervto expand and contract in arcs of continually varying radii as the temperature of the applied heat varies. However, the less expandingr metal may be made to form the arcs, with the greater expanding metal forming y the chords, in which case the less expanding metal would follow arcs of continually varying radii as the temperature of the applied heat varies, due to the material change in length of the chords. `In the former case the curvature increases with the increase of temperature and in the latter case decreases with such increase.

The sensitive thermostaticstrips 9 may be formed in any desired manner,'but I have obtained satisfactory results with strips such as shown in detail -in Fig. 4 in which the greater expanding metal G may be brass,

' having the less expanding nickel-iron alloy H rolled or riveted thereon. This construction materially increases or ampliies the change of the radii of the arcs of circles formed, for the arc may then be considered to be made up of` infinitesimal small arcs each with its chord, the length of the arc and the length of the chord being nearly of the same dimension, and therefore the difference of expansion is most manifest. If

.these thermostatic strips 9 aresetstraight at normal temperature, say F. such as shown in Fig. l, then under the influence of greater temperature than 60 F. they,

bend as illustrated in Fig. 2, and with less temperature than 60 F. they bend in the opposite direction as illustrated in Fig. 5.

I so construct and mount the thermostatic members, that the expansion and contraction is utilized in a most eliicient manner for actuating suitable means for controlling lthe inlet port E. I have shown the inlet of the valve 10 instead of on the sensitive thermostatic members, and are then de-v fiected throughout the heat chamber. The valve also closes quickly against the fiat seat J.

The valve spindle or stem 11 slides through ,a sleeve 12, extending through the bottom o-f the casing opposite the inlet port E, and this sleeve is preferably made 'adjustable in any suitable manner, in this instance the sleeve being exteriorly screw threaded and provided with the locking nut 13. A knurled head 14 may be provided for adjusting the sleeve 12.

The thermostatic members or strips 9 as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 are mounted in pairs on the stem 11, which'passes loosely through apertures in the strips, preferably substantiallyat their center. A washer 15 separates the pairs, and washers 16 and 17 are prefer head of the valve and between one pair of strips and the end of the sleeve 12. The 4 washer 16 under the headl of the valve prevents the heated valve from contacting with the strips.

The outer end of the valve stem 11, outside of the casing, as shown, is preferably provided with a spring 18 which may be in the form of a coiled spring placed over the end of the stem and confined between the sleeve 12 and the washer 19 held by the pin 20. Said spring 18 holds the valve and thermostatic'members snugly together and permits the -installation of the device at any angle. y

ySuitable means are preferably provided in the casing for guiding the strips 9 and for preventing them from getting out of. alinement, and I have provided guide ribs 21 at one end of the casing, between which the ends of the strips 9 lie. f l

In Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, theI pairs of strips 9 are arranged face to face with the brass or greater expanding metal G outward, and the alloy faces (H inward. Fig. 1 shows the thermostatic members in normal position at a temperatureof about 60 F'. with the valve 10 fully open. Fig.l 2 shows the strips 9 in bowed'or arched posiand 12, the

` mostat.

Figs'. 'Zand 8 show a device like that already described, except that the device is provided with a fuel chamber consisting of the conduit 6, `a return bend 22, and a return conduit 23 through the casing, thus exposing a greater length of conduit to the. heat 'of theexhaust gases, thereby increasing'the heating surface.- Any suitable or desirable arrangement of the fuel chamber may be provided, exposing such surface to the exhaust gases as' necessary for the transmission of the heat to the fuel, and it may be cast integral with the casing.

In the .operation of the device, the`thermostatic control is set to maintain a given predetermined temperature in the heat chamber, and asthe operation of the engine varies,l thereby varying the temperature and pressure of the .exhaust gases, thev thermo static members 9 automatically raise the `valve 10 immediately the temperature rises,

and lower said valve 10 immediately the temperature` falls below the temperature setting, thereby automatically .controlling the quantity of exhaust gas admitted according to the temperature in the heating chamber.

As thequantity of such Agas is extremelyl large compared to the quantity `of fuel being used by the engine, it -isonly necessary to provide' proper heating surface to consistj Iently raise the temperature of the fuel to a predetermined temperature with reference to the `temperature of the heat chamber.

Therefore the thermostatic control may be' 'fs'et either for a predetermined temperature ff the'C heat chamber or a predetermined temperature of the fuel.

.The fuel chamber I prefer in conduit form as it affords the maximum heating surface for the fuel contained, and is abso- .lutely liquid tightl and' enables simple, 'strong' and tight fuel connections, not sub ject to the heat ofthe heat chamber.

p The plurality of thermostatic members 9"- are advantageous in providing relative large movement of the valve l10, it being evident at starting, that the exhaust gases should otbe restrictedT as they are of much lower temperaturethan` under average running conditionsll.v The adjustment vof the thermostatic control embodied in the sleeve 12 is not absolutely necessary, because'in manufacture the correct setting of the thermostatic strips may be made for malntain.-

ing the predetermined temperature,or other forms of adjustment may be provided, -However, this adjustment' is very valuableA for certain uses of the invention.

In Figs. 9 and 10 a modification of the device is shown in' which only Ione sensitive thermostatic member or strip 9b is shown in the casing D2, having its ends loosely supported on the lugs or brackets 24 on the ends of the casing. The valve 10.* is carl ried centrally by the strip 9* in any suitable manner. As shown the valve stem 25 passes through an .aperture in the strip and wash- Vers-16b and 26 are placed on each side of the strip. A pin 27 orother fastening del vice holds the stem 25 Ato the strip. Fig. 9

shows the strip 9" under the influence of material heat with the valve 10b nearly closed and Fig.. 10 shows the strip 9b bowed or curved in the opposite -manner under material cold.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate a device similar to that shown in Fig. 9 except that the valve 10b is omitted and the inlet port E3 has a depending lip 28 forming a valve seat against which the thermostaticstrip'9c' itself abuts under the influence of excess heat, to close the inlet port as shown in Fig. 11. The normal position vof 9 is indicated in Fig. 12. Further, 9 is adjustable bythe supporting bolts 39'held by the nut 40 and is kept in place by the spring 41.

ln Figs. 13, 14 and 15, vmodifications are shown in which`the thermostatic members or strips are each unitary and formed of a single metal instead of compound metals. In this instance, the strip G4 is formed of high expanding metal asbrass, and the Ivo valve 10d is connected to Vthis strip, as in a Fig. 9. The strip H4. forming a tie member is composed of alloy, as a nickel-iron alloy, and its'e'nl s rest upon the brackets 29, and are hooked or bent to form' abutments 30 for the ends of the brass strip G4,

so that under the influence ofheat, theJ greater expanding strip G4 will arch or expand'toward the cover 1d and close the valve 10l against its seat J4.

As another modiication, the alloy strip or tie Amember H4 may be omitted and the ends of the brass strip G4 may abut d irectly .against the walls of the casing, in

which `case thecasing should preferably be and the members'so tiedtogether are suprformed of cast Piron instead vof aluminum, as 1t expands less. l

ported on the support 33.."in the casing D5. l

The'ends .of the. thermostaticmembers are guided by the guide 'fianges 34 and 35` and the valve 10 is suitably mounted on the strip Gr5 whith is opposite the inlet port E5. Under the influence of heat the members G5 tend to expand and force the valve l0e against its seat.

In Fig. 15 a modification ofthe d/evicev shown in Fig. 14 is illustrated having a plurality of thermostatic couples constructed like Fig. 14. In this case the couples are supported one on top of the other upon the suppo-rt 86 extending across the casing D and the valve stem l1 of the valve 10t extends loosely through all the strips as shown. The ends of the stri-psare guided by the guide fianges 37 and 38 and as the high Iexpanding brass strips G. expand, the valve closes against its seat.

Obviously other modifications of the device could be devised and in my copending to obtain by Letters Acasing for regulating the temperature of the liquid fuel.

2. A device ports to permit the` flow of'a gaseous heating medium through the casing, a liquid fuelfchamber in the casing, with inlet and outlet means, a valve for the said inlet port in the casing, and independent actuating means in'the said casing for said valve, automatically actuated by the heat of the lsaid heating medium for regulating the temperature Nithin the said casing.

3. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet ports to permit the iiow of exhaust gases through the casing, a liquidV fuel chamber in the casing with inlet and outlet means,

and independent thermostatic means in the said exhaust gas casing for controlling said inlet pqrt in the casing, automaticallyactuated by the heat of the exhaust gases in the exhaust gas casing.

4. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet ports to permit the flow of exhaust gases through the casing, aliquid fuel chamber in the casing with inlet and outlet means,

. thermostatidifians inthe casing or controlling said inlet port in the casing, automatically actuated bythe heat of the exhaust gases in the exhaust gas casing,and

for heating liquid fuel, com-- prising a casing having inlet and outletv means affording provision for setting said casing at anyangle or position whatsoever, without interfering with the automatic operation of the device. v

5. A devicel for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet andY outlet ports to permit the flow of exhaust gases through the' casing, a liquid fuel chamber in the casing with inlet and outlet means, a valve for the said inlet port in the casing and thermostatic members in the casing connected to actuate the valve and composed of metals having different coeiflcients of expansion. v

6. A device for heating li uid fuel, comprising a casing having in et and outlet ports to permit the flow of exhaust gases through the casing, a liquid fuel chamber in the casing with inlet and outlet means, a disk valve in the casing movable .to and from the said yinlet port, whereby the exhaust gases impinge directly upon the valve, and thermostatic members in the casing connected to directly actuate the valve and com- -supporting devices for the thermostatic posed of metals having different `coefficients l of expansion.v

7. A-device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet orts, a fuel conduit `in the casing for sub- Jecting the liquid fuel to the heat of a gaseous heating medium, thermostatic members formed of metallicstrips supported in said casing, and subject to the heat of the heating medium, and a valve for the inlet `port connected to be actuated by said strips,

whereby the temperature of the liquid fuel passing through the fuel conduit in the casl ing is regulated.

8. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet A lports to permit the flow of a gaseous heating-medium through the caslng, a' liquid fuel conduit passing through the casing, a thermostat comprising bi-metallic strips centrally supported in said casing and a valve adapted to close and open, said inlet port in accordance with the expansion and contraction of said strips.

9. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet ports to permit the flow of a gaseous heating medium through tlie casing, a liquid fuel conduit in the casing, thermostatic members formed of bi-metallic strips centrally supported in said casing, a valve adapted' to close and open said inlet port in accordance with the expansion and contraction of' said strips, additional means for aiding in maintaining the thermostat-.ic members in position, and means for adjusting the normal seat of the said inlet port. l i V 10. A device for heating liquid fuel, composition of the valve' relative to the valve prising a casing having inlet and outlet.

' for the inlet port carried by the spindle and ports to permit the flow of a gaseous heaty' ing medium through the casing, a liquid fuel chamber in the casing, a longitudinally 'movable spindle extending into the caslng opposite the inlet port, thermostatic members vin the form of metallic strips, each composed 0f a plurality of different metals and sup-ported on said spindle, and a valve adapted to be moved to and from the inlet port by the eX ansion and contraction of said thermostatic members due to variations of heat in said casing.

12. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inlet and outlet ports to permit the iow of al gaseous heating medium through the casing, a liquid fuel conduit 'in the casing, a sleeve extending through the casing opposite the said inlet port, a spindle movable longitudinally in said sleeve, a valve carried by the inner end of the spindle, and thermostatic members '1n vthe form of metallic strips of different metals loosely supported on said spindle beheating liquid fuel, com--v tween the valve and the sleeve, and adapted'to move to close and open the inlet port by the expansion and contraction of said thermostatic members due to lvariations of temperature in said casing.

' 13. A device for heating liquid fuel, comprising a casing having inletI and outlet ports to permit the iiow of a gaseous Aheating medium'through the casing, a liquid fuel. conduit in the casing, an adjustable sleeve extending through the casing opposite the said inlet port,a spindle movable longitudinally in said sleeve, a 'valve carn ried by the inner end of the spindle, thermostatic members in the form of metallic strips of different metals loosely supported on said spindle between the valve and the sleeve, and adapted to move to close and open the inlet port by the expansion and contraction of said thermostatic members, due to variations of temperature in said cas# ing, and a spring for said spindle outside of they casing for maintaining the valve and thermostatic members in position irrespective of the angle of installation of the device.

In ytestimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY NEWTON WHITTELSEY.

Witnesses: l

THOMAS Hown, M. M. RIEMANN. 

